Jacksonville Architecture

The Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company began phone service in Jacksonville in 1880, but five years later only 170 subscribers had signed up for the system, for a charge of $60 a year. As the city grew and prospered after the 1901 Fire, the demand for modern telephone service increased proportionally. In 1900, there were 881 subscribers to the Jacksonville telephone service; by 1913 there were about 8,500. To meet this growing need, the Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Company constructed this telephone operations center at a cost of over $150,000. At its peak in the 1960's this "Main Exchange" building had over 750 operators working in it. The facade of the building is quite attractive, using horizontal and vertical panels of white terra-cotta to establish a rhythmic contrast with the buff-colored brick. Also accenting this building are a pressed-metal cornice and two bracketed balconies, which mark the original entrances. P. Thornton Marye, whose firm later designed the Fox Theatre and several Southern Bell buildings in Atlanta, was the architect for this structure. It is one of many older commercial buildings downtown that have recently been renovated and adapted for modern business use.